Captain Gertse says there is a buzz and a drive among the Vasco players
VASCO DA GAMA, a club that have enjoyed their ups and downs in recent years, are hoping to make history by reaching the Nedbank Cup semi-finals for the first time.
Formed in 1980, Vasco are a team with a rich history. The likes of Andre Arendse, Shaun Bartlett, Carlos das Neves, Keenin Lesch, Thabo Mngomeni, David Nyathi, Nazeer Allie, Mfundo Shumana and Andre Petim have all worn the colours of the team from Cape Town’s northern suburbs, that borrows their name from Brazilian outfit Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama.
To date the biggest achievement for a club, that for many years were an amateur team, has been gaining promotion to the PSL in 2010. Their stay in the elite league, though, was only to last for a single season, Vasco losing out in the 2011 promotion-relegation playoffs to none other than Black Leopards, who now also stand in the way of their progression in the Nedbank Cup round of eight.
It’s been four years since Leopards knocked Vasco back down to the NFD, and while revenge might not be the main motivation ahead of Saturday afternoon’s clash with Lidoda Duvha in the Limpopo Province (3pm kickoff), victory would certainly be sweet for head coach Tony De Nobrega and his men.
Vasco are one of three First Division clubs still in the Nedbank Cup, the others being Leopards and table-topping Golden Arrows. So getting to play Leopards was probably the best draw Vasco could have hoped for, although the only problem being that the match is scheduled for Thohoyandou rather than Parow Park.
“We would have loved to have played at home. Now we have a huge distance to travel – almost as far as the Zimbabwe border. But we’ll take it, at least we know what to expect from Leopards. Rather Leopards in Thohoyandou than playing a team like Mamelodi Sundowns away,” De Nobrega told the Cape Times.
The other issue facing the Cape club is that they have not beaten their Limpopo rivals since the promotion playoffs of 2010, a 2-1 home victory securing a 3-2 aggregate win to take Vasco into the top flight.
Subsequent to that, the Parow team have lost five and drawn one of the six games played between the two sides, and have already lost twice to the Limpopo club in the league this season.
But records are there to be broken. And while wary of the Lidoda Duvha threat, which has seen the Zeca Marques-coached side securing the shock result of the tournament, a 2-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the previous round, De Nobrega feels his charges have the beating of their northern rivals.
“Yes they have been on a bit of a roll. But we have done fantastically to reach the stage where we find ourselves, and the guys are really up for this game, they can’t wait.
“There is a long history between the teams, maybe we owe them one for knocking us out of the PSL a few years ago. But the main thing is, this is a cup game, anything can happen.”
Vasco’s young captain, Nathan Gertse, who has grown up at the club, would love nothing more than to help his side take a step closer to the final.
“It would be nice to help Vasco make history by going the furthest they ever have gone in this competition. I’ve been at this club for a very long time, right through the juniors, and it would be a big achievement and a way to leave my mark at the team.
“Leopards will be tough, especially away from home. But the guys are confident, there is a buzz and a drive amongst the players,” said the 23-year-old.
It’s not often that Vasco get to play in such a high-profile match these days, but Gertse hopes the game’s stature, as a major cup quarter-final, will serve to motivate rather than intimidate the players.
“The guys are up for the fight. This is a TV game, lots of people will be watching, so it’s an opportunity for the players to make a name for themselves, getting some exposure and maybe even getting a move to the PSL.
“The only way we can win this is for us to go out there and work and work, and work. There is no draw, only the winner goes through, this is cup football and anything is possible.”